Dear Editor:
There's too much anger in the debate about the Burnaby school district issues.
It's not accurate to equate courteously disagreeing with someone's lifestyle to being in favour of any kind of bullying.
Parents and children have the right to disagree with various lifestyles for religious and non-religious reasons and not to have those lifestyles pushed at little children in a public school.
That's one reason why so many people make huge sacrifices to send their children to independent schools.
In 2010, over 11 per cent of children attended various independent schools - some are religious, some are secular, but they all provide pluralism and choice.
The Independent School Act says some great things in the preamble, including: "It is the goal of a democratic society to ensure that all its members receive an education that enables them to become literate, personally fulfilled and publicly useful, thereby increasing the strength and contributions to the health and stability of that society. . The purpose of the British Columbia school system is to enable all learners to become literate, to develop their individual potential and to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy, democratic and pluralistic society and a prosperous and sustainable economy."
Adults should model the interaction that they want the children to follow.
That is not happening on this letters page, but it is happening in the pluralistic environment that independent schools provide.
Kathleen Higgins, Delta
